Review: Califia Probiotic Non-Dairy Yogurt Drinks

Just in time for the Natural Products Expo West 2018, Califia Farms is introducing what might be their most ambitious nut milk based product to date: Yogurt Drinks.

Announced in late February, Califia’s Yogurt Drinks lineup feature the company’s proprietary “Califia Culture Blend” (in place of traditional dairy-based yogurt) and will include four varieties: Unsweetened Plain, Mango, Super Berry, and Strawberry. All four of the products will be available in both a 25.4 oz. multiserve (which is what we tested for this review) and single serve 8 oz. bottles.

While the Unsweetened Plain tastes a bit sour and is likely better off used as an ingredient in a smoothie rather than consumed straight, the three flavored offerings are really outstanding. Plus, there’s truly no compromise in flavor, consistency, or body in comparison to a traditional dairy-based yogurt drink. From our perspective, that’s the bullseye when it comes to any dairy alternative product.

Taking a look at the three flavored offerings, the level of execution is consistent across the board.. All of the products, including the Plain Unsweetened variety, start off with a base of almond milk, Califia Culture Blend, coconut cream, oat fiber, sea salt, and added stabilizers.

For the three flavored varieties, fruit puree, sugar, and natural flavors are also added. Which flavor is best is a matter of personal preference, with the strawberry, blueberry, and mango all tasting like what you’d get from a similarly flavored cup of yogurt. Nutritionally, each 8 oz. serving has 150 calories, 3g of fiber, 3g of protein, 16g of sugar, 9g of fat, and 10 billion CFUs of probiotics. This is something that’s slightly different than a dairy-based yogurt or yogurt drink, which tend to be higher in protein (as well as calories).

While we haven’t yet gotten our hands on the single serve version of this product, the multiserve packaging follows the same format as the rest of the Califia line. It’s pretty straightforward and intuitive, which is always something that we appreciate in package design. They’ve done a nice job of presenting the product as a yogurt sibling, which makes it easy to quickly grasp the copy on the label.

If there’s any constructive feedback on it, it’s that it might be hard to quickly spot this amongst all of the other similarly designed Califia SKUs (of which there are many). But this is a very minor point for what is a very polished-looking product.

Overall, we think that Califia Farms has done a tremendous job with this product. It’s timely, innovative, extends the breadth of their lineup, and, most importantly, it’s really tasty stuff.